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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
his heart. There is no dark mysticism in this statement. The “Fall” is due to ignorance, so the removal of ignorance must reinstate us in power, glory and joy. According to the Biblical tradition already examined, Adam was hypnotized by the serpent to believe that he was not so wise as Gods, and was led to entertain the desire to become like Them. This unfortunate belief of his has spelt out calamity and disaster for the whole race, and even now we are under its influence. Indeed, the force of the suggestion has deepened and augmented every time that it has been imparted afresh by parent to child, or by a tutor to his pupil. Under the influence of the accepted suggestion of identity with the outer encasement of matter, the physical body, he who is the Lord of the universe, in the purity of his nature, is acting as if he were a slave; the Master is doing the work of the coolie in his own house, and resents being told that he is the Master! What is to be done to remove this fatal bondage ?
Yoga teaches us that knowledge is the only means whereby the spell can be broken. Obviously, it is the state of one's belief which has to be affected, so that one might be able to purge the mind of the wrong impression of inferiority and duality.' But belief cannot be changed except by reason, that is, knowledge. Hence, it is clear that knowledge alone is the weapon which can attack wrong impressions and destroy false beliefs. Let us take a couple of practical instances to illustrate the principle. Suppose that a child sees a rope in a dark room and fancies it to be a serpent, and is afraid to go into that room. How will you
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